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Moon Gardening Tools

I use this handy guide to find out the optimal days each month to plant, propagate, prune & fertilise. It's laminated, easy to use, works all over the world + the bonus mini companion planting chart makes it a practical gift. I love it!

Don’t have the time or money to buy a new pot or build a garden bed? It’s much easier than you may think to find the perfect container without costing an arm and a leg! If you’re not in the habit of finding ‘new ways with old things,’ read on to find out why you should consider reusing what you’ve already got …

These quaint little metal Twinings vintage tea tins have been reused as small herb pots. They make a cute set of windowsill planters. To avoid rust damage, sit metal tins on a tray to catch water from the drainage holes.

1. Save money/make money. Turning ‘trash into treasure’ is one sure way to be thrifty in the garden. If you don’t have to buy a container, you can keep your money in your wallet for plants or other garden supplies you really need to buy. Being creative with your hands and making attractive, affordable planters, potting benches and unique pots for other gardeners may also be a niche market to make money or raise funds for a worthy project.

2. Reduce landfill and ease your conscience. In our ‘throw away’ society, many people never stop to think about giving new life to an object that appears to be ready for the rubbish tip. Stop! Think about the shape of the container and ask yourself ‘Can I add drainage holes?’ or ‘Can I use this as a cache pot?’ Large items in particular like BBQ trolleys, chairs and furniture take up a huge amount of space in landfill but can easily be turned into useful planters or potting benches.

An old window frame has been repurposed with some other salvaged materials into this practical potting bench for the garden.

3. Add loads of character to your garden. Many people spend a lot of money to buy unique, one-off pieces at expensive garden centres and nurseries to decorate and add character to their garden. Frugal gardeners however, know you can achieve the same effect with a little creative thinking and often a splash of paint, polish or artistic flair!

Add a little artistic flair in the garden by clever use of colour – 500ml sample paint pots have more than enough paint to cover several plant containers in matching colours at minimal cost.

4. Create a unique design theme. Think about what YOU love – and turn this into your personalised garden theme. Do you have a favourite colour? Like rustic farm or garden tools? Garden art? A particular plant species? Do you have an old collection of unused items that could be turned into planters?

Here a collection of old enamel and metal containers in silver and white have been grouped together and reused as planters with great effect.

Once you decide what is missing in your garden, you can add a little creativity by incorporating your hobby, art, collection, favourite colour or plants into your garden space. Just start sorting out or collecting old items, going through your garage or attic, and saving objects you would have otherwise thrown away.

5. Make great use of vertical space. If you’re cramped for space, growing ‘up’ with some clever repurposed space-savers is an ideal way to get more plants in your garden. For example, an old piece of lattice, a gate or shelf can be repurposed into useful wall or bracket-mounted hanging space for plants.

An old piece of timber and a pair of brackets have been refashioned into a useful vertical growing space for pots.

6. Find an outlet for creativity. Some people find repurposing containers totally addictive! Making old things new or painting a mis-matched collection of items in the same colour can make you look like a pro garden designer with very little effort. It’s also a great way to make home-made gifts.

There’s no better hand-made gift than to ‘give a garden’ in a repurposed planter. This basket has excellent drainage and makes a perfect partner for low-maintenance succulents.

7. Teach children not to waste valuable resources. Kids thrive when given some creative space. Give them the opportunity to make their own garden with the simplest of containers like old tin cans, shoes and toys. They’ll take to it like a duck to water. When they grow out of those gumboots or break a toy, give them the chance to re-purpose it into a new garden!

Tin cans from the pantry would normally end up in the bin but can make cute flower pots or mini planters especially for children. A great craft project and a micro garden small enough for a windowsill.

Make it their own exciting little project to work on. With a little paint, patience and imagination, children can invent their own ingenious ways to save resources and grow their own garden.

“The most important lesson is teaching children how to re-use items instead of being wasteful and always expecting something new.”

8. Inspire others to do the same. Not everyone can picture what they can do with what they’ve got – so help them out! Invite friends, family and neighbours over to share your creative ideas and inspire them to get started on their own repurposed garden project. Find a friend – be inventive, share resources and go shopping at garage sales and op shops together. Many retired people have spare time and would love to share their skills and have a bit of company while making planters with others. Start a ‘Repurposed Garden Group’! Funky planters can be great fund-raisers too so think about opportunities to make something unique and raise money for your local school, community organisation or project.

9. Create a design feature. Many gardens, especially micro gardens fail to make the most of the space they have. They are often missing a special feature to draw the eye, become a focal point for the garden or even when looking from inside out. Put your artistic hat on, stand back from different angles and try to imagine what the space needs. Holding your hands out in front of you to make the shape of a miniature square ‘frame’ like a camera often helps! What can you see inside the ‘frame?’ Maybe a tall container is needed where everything else is low-growing. Perhaps a vertical ladderwith plants on the rungs would draw the attention to a feature wall or an unusual container in the centre of the garden may become a conversation point.

An old ladder may no longer be safe for human use but it may be perfect against a wall as a vertical garden feature.

10. Support a local charity or cause. Many unique containers and little hidden gems can be discovered at places like op shops, charity organisations, garage sales and school fetes. These are spots you can often find a treasure trove of bargains and feel good about spending a few dollars with a charity or cause that really needs it. Think ‘win-win!’

Have these ideas inspired you to start a repurposed planter project? If so, please leave a comment, share your ideas and photos to show others what you’ve done. We can all learn from each other. Check out other container ideas here and pick up some tips for growing container gardens.

I’ll be posting more photos of how others are using repurposed planters in their gardens soon, so if you don’t want to miss these, subscribe to my newsletter (and grab your free eBook) or click on the RSS feed below or to the right.

[…] Tips for Growing a Garden in Pots, 5 Thrifty Recycling Ideas for making your own and consider the Benefits of Using Repurposed Planters. You will also find a lot of tips in the Container Gardening […]

[…] buying all these at retail prices will obviously add up very quickly. If you want decorative pots or containers for them all to go in, then you might need deep pockets! Once you have all these wonderful […]

[…] after seeing this, I regretted putting the pasta jars in the recycling bin! What’s the moral of this post? If you have eleven glass pasta jars in your cupboard taking up the whole shelf for over a year, put them in your recycling bin. If you see a container that could serve a new, clever purpose, repurpose it! […]

[…] Finally! It feels like SPRING! Once the weather gets nice like this, my family like to spend most of our time outside, soaking up the sun and the fresh air. This is when I start my planting and my “outdoor decorating”. Since I try to repurpose anything and everything, my goal is to not purchase any new pots this year and instead, think “outside the container”. Not only will it save money, but The Micro Gardner points our 10 other benefits to using repurposed planters here. […]

I love this! Thank you!
I’m working on reusing tin cans (from soup and canned vegetables) as centerpieces for my wedding, and am looking for some nice flowers to plant in them. I love the flowers in #7, but don’t know what they are. Any help? And if you have any recommendations for short flowers to grow in pots, please send them my way! Right now we are looking at dwarf zinnias, marigolds, and pansies.

Hi Katie. Not sure what #7 is sorry but other short flowers you might look at are violas/Johnny Jump Ups; lobelia; begonia; dianthus; some salvias (depending on the pot size); portulaca and alyssum/Sweet Alice. It also depends on the season so it might be best to chat to your local nursery and get some advice. This online resource may to help you with a shortlist too: http://www.virtualflowers.com.au/annuals.asp.

Hope you have a wonderful wedding. I would absolutely LOVE to see/share some pics of your can planters with my readers to inspire others what they can do. Feel free to email me before/after your wedding. All the best with your plans.

[…] you can live more sustainably. Little steps and simple changes can make a BIG difference. Try to reuse and repurpose more often. Compost kitchen scraps to recycle nutrients. This builds plant health as food cycles […]

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Gene says: "These are the neatest ideas I have ever seen." Theresa says: Very easy to read, the links are great, lots of information at your finger tips, loved all the photos - very appealing to the eye."